Cold Snap Sends Natural Gas Futures to 2½-Year High

NEW YORK—Natural-gas futures climbed to a more than 2 1/2-year high Wednesday, as frigid temperatures over the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. stoked demand for the heating fuel.

Natural gas for February delivery rose 16.2 cents, or 3.7%, to $4.597 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after climbing 2.4% Tuesday. Earlier in the session, the February contract reached the highest price since June 14, 2011....